On 23 – 26 November the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have gathered to a plenary session in Strasbourg. The main focus in this session was the EU enlargement strategy, fight with climate change, telecommunications market, marking on goods and other areas.

Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women the EP has drawn attention to this problem and has also made necessary changes on the EP working rules according to the newly enforced Treaty of Lisbon.

The European Parliament has urged the EU to accept new members after careful evaluation of progress in each country in its resolution on the European Commission 2009 enlargement strategy for Western Balkan countries, Turkey and Iceland. The Parliament has once again confirmed its commitment to enlarge the EU members` family, but has especially stressed that current as well as future potential candidates have to continue reforms primary focusing on problems related to legal, freedom of thought, ethnic minorities, fight against corruption and organised crime issues. The Liberals` Movement of the Republic of Lithuania which is represented by Leonidas Donskis in the European Parliament in its EP electoral platform strongly supports EU enlargement process and EU commitments to candidate countries which fulfil Copenhagen EU accession criteria.

In a resolution adopted on Wednesday the MEPs have urged EU countries` leaders to show the political will so that a strong and legal binding agreement to fight the climate change would be reached in the Conference on Climate Change organised in Copenhagen in December. The principled EP`s position on the climate change issues corresponds with the EP electoral platform of the Liberals` Movement of the Republic of Lithuania in which the active EU role on a global level to fight the climate change is being supported.

„Europe must behave very brave in the area of climate change not only because of its historical responsibility, but also because of the possibility to become a cradle for solutions needed in the world fighting the climate change“, - said Corinne Lepage, the main Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) representative in the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change.

On 25 November, marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the European Parliament has voted for a resolution in this week`s plenary session calling the EU Council and the Commission to prepare an action plan to prevent women from violence and to declare a European Year on Violence Against Women. The MEP L. Donskis has met a famous playwright and campaigner against violence against women Eve Ensler and her colleagues a day before debates on this resolution.

After entering into force of the Lisbon Treaty the European Parliament will be enlarged from 736 to 754 members. After all the EU countries will have ratified a corresponding protocol, 18 new MEPs from 12 countries will join the Parliament.